Tony inherited his father’s debt to a crime lord along with the family restaurant, and he’ll be damned if it goes down. He has no time for distractions—especially not the gorgeous little problem who recently opened a bookstore across the street.

Mara’s terrified thousands of miles and a squeaky-clean cover aren’t enough to lose the dealer whose money she stole for a fresh start. The sizzling-hot restaurateur makes her feel safe—unfamiliar territory she yearns to explore.

Tony squinted through a liquor-laced haze at the second set of books before him on the old mahogany desk and put his head in his hands. “This is my legacy?” All the whiskey in the world couldn’t replace his dad. “Is this why he died?”

“No. It looks like Finn’s uncle had something to do with the shooting, after all.” Alek took one hand from behind his head and examined his perfectly manicured nails. As if there weren’t already enough reasons to hate him right now, Tony added wears clear polish to the list. Under normal circumstances, Alek’s sheen didn’t bother him so much, but today, everything rankled. “We’re looking into it.”

Tony leaned back in the antique office chair, the one his dad had spun him onas a child, making him dizzy as the whiskey made him now. “And if I refuse to continue?”

Alek reached down and flipped to the last active page in both sets of books. “Look at the bottom line. You wanted to know how you’re going to take care of your mom and your three sisters?” He jabbed his finger on the page of the second book so hard it almost tore. “This is how.”

This sounds interesting, and I’d like to see more. If you’re interested at all, please send the first 50 pages (as a .doc) along with your query letter and a short synopsis (pasted in the body of the email) to submissions(at)jaw-litagent(dot)com with the subject line “Pitch Wars request: PERMISSION TO FALL”. Thanks so much, Julia

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